Maria Shepherd, President and Founder, Medi-Vantage10.05.17
MedtechVision2017 isn’t your average “women in medtech” meeting. The founders (www.medtechwomen.org) demand (and receive) the best content from their all-volunteer team of meeting planners and visionaries. This year’s event—themed “The Evolution of Medtech”—was no exception. This one-day conference offered discussions of topics that matter in medtech—new innovations and entrants that have emerged from the technology and retail sectors which present as potential competition or opportunities for the traditional medtech firms. Front and center, the value of data, connectivity, and digital health, which is redefining the types of products and services being developed to address today’s healthcare needs, was shared.
Why This Is Important
Conservative estimates place the opportunity for digital healthcare at the same value of the administrative costs of running the U.S. healthcare system (approximately 30 percent of the system’s overall costs1). The United States spends almost $3 trillion per year on healthcare.2 That figure places U.S. healthcare administrative costs at just under a mind-boggling $1 trillion per year.
Chart 1
Meanwhile, the rate of disruptive digital innovation in healthcare is low when compared to other major industries. Banking, retail, and entertainment have all adopted digital technologies faster, and as a result, have made our lives easier. Fortunately, this dynamic is changing in the healthcare space as investors recognize the high value of digital medical technologies (Charts 1 & 2).
Chart 2
Traditional Medical Device Innovation Is at Risk
The worldwide digital health industry is estimated at $55 billion to $67 billion,3 and is projected to be growing at a rate of 20-25 percent annually. A Forbes article4 projects the size of this market to grow to $117 billion by 2020 (Chart 3).
Chart 3
MedtechVision2017 Speaker: How to Use Big Data
Erin Koehler of Kinsa described how her company is disrupting one of the oldest markets in medtech—at-home temperature measurement using a thermometer. Her company’s thermometer sends data into the cloud, and when aggregated, that data can provide information on where flu and other viral diseases are picking up momentum, real-time. The end user, generally a parent, benefits through patient education that is sent at the crisis point, and provides critical warnings—no aspirin for sick children, how to soothe symptoms, and illnesses prevalent locally—to provide a better understanding of the virus to the patient or parent.
Find the Digital Health Component of Your Device that Drives Value
If the thermometer market can be disrupted, think about what digital information could do to enhance your product. The global thermometer market is expected to grow to $1.5 billion by 2025.5 Terumo and 3M, watch out! And, all other medtech manufacturers, scrub your marketing specifications to be sure the digital healthcare component of your device is part of your medtech strategy.
References
Maria Shepherd has more than 20 years of leadership experience in medical device/life-science marketing in small startups and top-tier companies. Her career included a role as vice president of marketing for Oridion Medical, where she boosted the company valuation prior to its acquisition by Covidien/Medtronic. She was also director of marketing for Philips Medical and held senior management roles at Boston Scientific Corp. In 2007, she founded Medi-Vantage. Medi-Vantage provides marketing, business, and product development strategy research for the medical device, diagnostics, and digital health industries. The firm quantitatively and qualitatively sizes and segments opportunities, evaluates new technologies, provides marketing services, and assesses prospective acquisitions. Shepherd has taught medtech marketing and product development courses and is a member of the Aligo Medtech Investment Committee. She can be reached at 855-343-3100. Visit her website at www.medi-vantage.com.
Why This Is Important
Conservative estimates place the opportunity for digital healthcare at the same value of the administrative costs of running the U.S. healthcare system (approximately 30 percent of the system’s overall costs1). The United States spends almost $3 trillion per year on healthcare.2 That figure places U.S. healthcare administrative costs at just under a mind-boggling $1 trillion per year.
Chart 1
Meanwhile, the rate of disruptive digital innovation in healthcare is low when compared to other major industries. Banking, retail, and entertainment have all adopted digital technologies faster, and as a result, have made our lives easier. Fortunately, this dynamic is changing in the healthcare space as investors recognize the high value of digital medical technologies (Charts 1 & 2).
Chart 2
Traditional Medical Device Innovation Is at Risk
The worldwide digital health industry is estimated at $55 billion to $67 billion,3 and is projected to be growing at a rate of 20-25 percent annually. A Forbes article4 projects the size of this market to grow to $117 billion by 2020 (Chart 3).
Chart 3
MedtechVision2017 Speaker: How to Use Big Data
Erin Koehler of Kinsa described how her company is disrupting one of the oldest markets in medtech—at-home temperature measurement using a thermometer. Her company’s thermometer sends data into the cloud, and when aggregated, that data can provide information on where flu and other viral diseases are picking up momentum, real-time. The end user, generally a parent, benefits through patient education that is sent at the crisis point, and provides critical warnings—no aspirin for sick children, how to soothe symptoms, and illnesses prevalent locally—to provide a better understanding of the virus to the patient or parent.
Find the Digital Health Component of Your Device that Drives Value
If the thermometer market can be disrupted, think about what digital information could do to enhance your product. The global thermometer market is expected to grow to $1.5 billion by 2025.5 Terumo and 3M, watch out! And, all other medtech manufacturers, scrub your marketing specifications to be sure the digital healthcare component of your device is part of your medtech strategy.
References
- http://bit.ly/mpo171002
- http://bit.ly/mpo171001
- http://bit.ly/mpo171003
- http://bit.ly/mpo171004
- http://bit.ly/mpo171005
Maria Shepherd has more than 20 years of leadership experience in medical device/life-science marketing in small startups and top-tier companies. Her career included a role as vice president of marketing for Oridion Medical, where she boosted the company valuation prior to its acquisition by Covidien/Medtronic. She was also director of marketing for Philips Medical and held senior management roles at Boston Scientific Corp. In 2007, she founded Medi-Vantage. Medi-Vantage provides marketing, business, and product development strategy research for the medical device, diagnostics, and digital health industries. The firm quantitatively and qualitatively sizes and segments opportunities, evaluates new technologies, provides marketing services, and assesses prospective acquisitions. Shepherd has taught medtech marketing and product development courses and is a member of the Aligo Medtech Investment Committee. She can be reached at 855-343-3100. Visit her website at www.medi-vantage.com.
